From The Artist Studio

A Lb. Of Feathers Or A Lb. Of Helicopters?

Commentary by Susan Hartenstein

Caption: “Ice Rescue Ladder,” photograph by Joseph Abbate, is one of many works now on view in “The Life of Still Objects,” at sTudio 6 Gallery, RoCA, Fort Tilden. Reminder: Sunday, March 20 at 1 p.m., the Rockaway Artists Alliance and Bernie Feuer will present the third part of “The Floyd Bennett Field Story Trilogy” called “Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer,” the story of the Coast Guard in Rockaway and Coast Guard aviation at Floyd Bennett Field. The multi-media Power Point presentation will be given in RAA’s sTudio 6 Gallery in the Rockaway Center for the Arts (RoCA) in Fort Tilden. Feuer will discuss the 19th century rescue techniques used by the US Life Saving Service, the forerunner of the Coast Guard; the shipwrecks that took place off the west end of Rockaway; the morning World War II struck in Rockaway; the development of the helicopter; the first flying ambulance; the rescue techniques developed at Floyd Bennett Field that saved countless American lives in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mark your calendars now: The opening reception for the next RAA exhibit, “Windows,” will be April 10, 12-4 p.m. in sTudio 6 Gallery, RoCA. “Windows” makes the viewer consider how the vision and the meaning of a subject are changed by what it is seen through? What is the relation between the observer and the observed? “Windows” has invited artists to observe the world through a frame — a window, a spyglass, a port, a looking glass, a prism, a frost- ed pane …Imagination would be the only limitation. Dates of the exhibit are April 9-May 8 in sTudio 6 Gallery.

Running concurrently with “Windows” in sTudio 7 Gallery will be “Glass and Water II,” an exhibit of the Brooklyn Watercolor Society (BWS) and Rockaway glass artists. Both “Glass” and “Water” will be invitational group shows.,

Just to whet those creative juices, the next show to aim for, artists, is: “Nature: Fur, Flora, Feathers.” RAA invites all artists to go wild and au natural. Animals, birds and flowers – domestic or feral, living, extinct or imaginary, real or surreal – are the subjects of this unique and vibrant exhibit. “Nature” is open to all media., Deadline for entry: April 22.

RAA will be involved with a fundraising event on Tuesday, April 12 at Lord and Taylor in Garden City, Long Island. Hours: 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Save 20 percent on one special item, save 15 percent all day long. Please purchase a $5 coupon and the $5 supports Rockaway Artists Alliance. For more information please visit: www.lordandtaylor.com or call 917-306-8729.

The kidsmART After-School Program 2010- 2011 is free. Location: Building T-149, Fort Tilden. Dates and times: through April 14, 2011; Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. On-site registration is available. Applications can also be downloaded from RAA’s Website:www.rockawayartistsalliance.- org For information call RAA at 718-474-0861.

Fort Tilden Highlights

PRESENT EXHIBITION: “The Life of Still Objects” in sTudio 6, Fort Tilden, RoCA (Rockaway Center for the Arts). The exhibit explores the motion and emotion in the world of objects that may be still but never static. On view through March 27. Gallery hours: Sat. and Sun. 12-4 p.m. and by appointment. Free admission to exhibit, reception and special events.